


All Our Friends Want Us to Fall in Love

by theGirlNightwing



Series: We are the warriors that built this town [1]
Category: Batgirl (Comics), Batman (Comics), Greek and Roman Mythology, Red Robin (Comics), Robin (Comics), Teen Titans (Comics), Under the Red Hood
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Gods & Goddesses, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Identity Porn, M/M, Secret Identity, batkids as greek gods, ish, will continue to add characters as I go
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-02
Updated: 2016-07-02
Packaged: 2018-07-19 14:37:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7365547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theGirlNightwing/pseuds/theGirlNightwing
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Stephanie is fatally wounded at the hand of Black Mask, Leslie doesn't get to her in time. She dies on the hospital bed as Batman attempts to comfort her.</p><p>Cassandra Cain and Tim Drake spend the following year in mourning. Bruce sends them to Bludhaven to get away from the memories, and they take the time to rediscover who they are. </p><p>When Steph wakes up... she remembers *everything*.</p><p>---</p><p>Bruce stares at them in apprehension. "You're what?"<br/>"Gods," Steph says. She slips her hand into Cass's.<br/>Tim coughs. "And really, really sorry we keep dying on you."<br/>"You're literally the only one of us who hasn't died, Tim, why are you apologizing."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> OK
> 
> (major character death is stephanie's cannonical "death", but it's real here)
> 
> so I'm using the original version of the persephone myth! not the rape of persephone, which was written later. here's a post on tumblr abt it:  
> http://thalia-the-guitar.tumblr.com/post/146783986061/bunjanecrocker-luxlustravi-oftaggrivated
> 
> op nails it right in the head tbh  
> besides that, I'm probably going to write another story with tim/jason and cass for the year i skip here. also ill update at *least* once a week, bc i have work and shit.
> 
> k so imma say right now - if you're going to judge the fact that I'm making aphrodite a dude and hades a girl, pls leave. they're literal gods they can appear however they want to. 
> 
> this is going to be long. I don't know how long yet, I've barely started chapter one lmao help
> 
> pls be honest in the comments. i have an issue with drawing things out so events happen slow, and I haven't written anything as long as I think this'll be since several years ago.
> 
> (rating is subject to change.)
> 
> welp now that's over, here's the extremely rushed prologue. ill be better abt that in upcoming chapters i swear

_2004_

* * *

 

When Stephanie Brown dies, the earth withers with her. Only Poison Ivy notices.

When Stephanie Brown dies, doctors are running around, frantically trying to get her heart beating again.

When Stephanie Brown dies, it is with a smile on her face, as Batman holds her, holds back tears.

When Stephanie Brown dies, a ripple shakes the very fabric of existence.

* * *

Cassandra Cain lifts her head. “Did you feel that?”

Tim tilts his head questioningly. “Feel what?”

Cass frowns. “Nevermind.”

They continue down the street together, searching for Bruce, but no matter what she does, Cass can’t shake the feeling that something was missing.

* * *

“Stephanie Brown is dead.”

* * *

_2005_

It is quiet in the hospital room. The only sound comes from the ticking clock. Even the heart monitor is silent. The patient’s heart had been flatlining for a year.

Ba-dum.

Two beats, and the room bursts into sound. An alarm goes off, alerting the doctors. All seven come rushing into the room, yelling and grabbing medicine off counters. The girl gasps a breath and chokes, tries to open her eyes and is blinded by the light. She hears words in a foreign tongue, unfamiliar syllables, and yet. She can understand them.

“ _She’s alive_!” They yell, and she winces, opening her mouth to speak.

Her words come out quiet, croaking. “ _Too much_ ,” She says. The doctors are instantly quiet, shocked to hear their native tongue from this foreign girl. She smiles in their direction. “ _Thank you_.” She takes another raspy breath.

For the first time in a year, Stephanie Brown’s eyes flutter shut.

* * *

Cass jolts up in her bed, breathing hard. “Beloved,” She hisses out, wincing at the ingrained association of that word with Talia al Ghul.

She smiles. "Welcome back," she whispers, and falls back down. Her hair fans out underneath her, and she clutches her sheets to her chest.


	2. Chapter One: There's No Sunshine This Impossible Year

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whoop this was fast  
> fukk

_One year ago - 2004_

* * *

 

Cass is sitting on a roof, looking down at the passing cars, when Tim lands behind her. She doesn’t react beyond a slight quirk of her lips.

Tim sits next to her, and kicks his feet against the side of the building. “Are you alright?”

She barely shakes her head, but Tim sees. He sighs. “Yeah, I guess that’s expected. You holding up okay?”

She turns her head and stares him in the eye, and only looks away again when he starts to look uncomfortable.

“Look, Cass, Steph’s death was hard on all of us, but -”

“You don’t feel.”

“What?”

“There is a, um, void. Inside me. Something missing. She’s gone.”

Tim is silent. Then, “You really loved her, didn’t you.”

She tilts her head.

“No, don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about. You stare at her almost all the time. I could never tell what you were thinking… I thought you thought she was too good for me, or something. I don’t know. But… you loved her.”

“I…”

“ _Tim! Cass! You need to haul ass out of Bludhaven_ now _!_ ”

“Oracle? What -?”

“ _There’s a chemical bomb headed your way, there’s no way to stop it! No time to get anyone out. I’m sorry, but you need to get out now!_ ”

“Fuck,” Tim says, and Cass agrees. “Bike?”

“Yes,” Cass says.

They swing down to ground level, and Tim has remotely called for his bike, so it meets them there. They jump on together and are moving before either of them has actually touched the seat.

“Left,” Cass calls, gripping Tim’s waist tightly. Then, “Right!”

“Backseat driver,” Tim teases, but she can see feel tense he is. She swallows. She’d be alright going down in combat. But a bomb? Not quite.

They’re tearing down the streets at nearly 100mph when Dick catches up with them on his own bike. None of them say a word as they race together, praying they can beat the bomb.  

When they pass the city limits, they don’t slow. Not even for a moment. They aren’t willing to risk it. So they keep going.

They’re halfway to Gotham when it hits.

“Fuck!” Cass hears Dick swear as he’s forced to jump off from the force of the blast. Tim’s bike does a little better in terms of stability, but he and Cass are sent shooting forward nearly twice the speed they were going.

Tim breaks as hard as he can, but in the end the two of them have to jump off too, and watch the bike crash into a tree.

They’re not far from Dick - they can still see him - but they’d need to walk back, and neither of them is in the mood. Cass takes one glance at Tim and sees that he’s thinking what she’s thinking, so she plops herself down onto the side of the empty road. “Sit,” She says.

Tim sighs, but complies.

When Dick approaches, that’s how he finds them. Cass has taken off her mask, and Tim looks like he’s tempted. “You alright?” He asks. Tim gives him a _look_ , and he nods. “Stupid question.”

“Who warned you?” Cass asks, leaning back and staring at the sky.

“Bruce. Didn’t he warn you?”

Tim frowns. “No. Oracle did.”

Dick stares at them in shock. “What?”

“Yeah. I don’t know.”

“Why didn’t Bruce warn _us_?” Cass asks.

“Good question,” Tim mutters.

Dick makes a face. “Maybe Babs got there first.”

“Maybe,” Tim says. He doesn’t look like he believes Dick. Cass thinks that’s probably a good idea.

* * *

“You don’t look surprised,” Cass says. They had managed to hail a taxi and arrive in Gotham safely, but parted ways with Dick from there.

Neither Cass nor Tim want to be in the manor.

On the way up, Dick had, in hushed tones, filled Tim and Cass in on what had been happening in Gotham with the Red Hood.

Tim is quiet for a moment. “I’ve… known Jason was alive for a little bit, but I didn’t know he’d go this far. He attacked me in the Tower, wearing an old Robin suit. I don’t know where he even found that thing… We fought. He won. We had a little heart-to-heart.”

“There’s more,” Cass guesses.

Tim laughs a self-deprecating laugh. “Oh, yeah. There’s always more.”

Cass waits expectantly, but Tim shakes his head. “It’s… private. Kinda. I don’t even know anymore, Cass.”

“Whenever you want to talk,” She says, and he gets the message.

“Thanks,” He says.


	3. Chapter Two: In Which Tim Can't Catch a Break

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cass finds a dog.  
> (A strange dog.)  
> Tim finds a Jason.  
> :P

_ 2004 _

* * *

 

Of course Jason fucking Todd shows up at their safehouse/apartment. 

It’s 2am when Cass hears the crash, and creeps out of her room, knife in hand. She locks eyes with Tim, who had also been woken up, and tilts her head. He nods and continues forward. 

They approach the end of the hall, where the door to the kitchen is, and Tim nudges the door. It’s enough for it to slowly open on its own, so Tim turns on his flashlight and shines it into the room.

There’s a groan. “Get that thing out of my eyes, repla - uh. Tim.”

Tim blinks. “Jason?”

What follows is a rather heavy pause. “Don’t tell Bruce I’m here. Please.”

Cass raises an eyebrow. 

“Yeah, okay,” Tim says. “You’d better have a good fucking reason to be here though.”

Jason’s lying on the floor, amidst a pile of unwashed, broken dishes. The window over the sink is open, and one of Cass’s plants on the fire escape has been tipped over. 

Jason flinches when she approaches, but she barely gives him a glance as she reaches over and rights it. When she finishes she turns back to him and reaches out a hand.

He eyes her warily. 

“Tim trusts you. I will too. If you hurt him, you will disappear”

“Oh good,” He says sarcastically. Then his eyes roll back in his head and he collapses even further. 

“Did he just pass out?”

“Yes. Help me move him.”

“He can move himself, honestly,” Tim says, waving a hand. “He should’ve known better than to come in through the kitchen window. Especially  _ my _ kitchen window.”

“...He has come in through your window before?”

“What? No. It’s just. Uh.” He waves his hand.

“Complicated?”

“Yeah.”

They stand in silence for a moment before Cass shrugs. “Okay. I’m, uh, going back to bed now.”

“Okay,” Tim says.

* * *

The next morning Jason wakes up slowly, like he has a hangover. Tim quietly snickers at him. “Rise and shine, sleeping beauty!”

Jason blinks. “Where am I?”

“My house. Mine and Cass’s house. You came in crashing through the window at ass o’clock this morning and woke us both up, but we decided to leave you to clean up your own mess.”

Jason groans. “That’s great. Thanks.”

“No problem. You want to tell us why you came  _ here _ , of all places?”

“I’ll tell you. But she can’t listen.”

Tim shakes his head. “You’re in  _ our _ house, Jason. You have to justify your presence to both of us.”

“It has to do with the thing we talked about,” Jason says, frustrated. “I didn’t think you wanted anyone else to know.”

Cass can see Tim’s decision before he turns to her. “An hour. Tell me later,” She says, and turns to leave. She doesn’t hear their voices, but assumes they start talking as soon as the front door shuts behind her. 

* * *

Walks in Gotham are never peaceful.

Cass has stopped three muggings and two attempted rapes in the fifteen minutes she’d been out. One of which was on her.

But then she finds something.

She’s walking past Crime Alley when she hears a whimper. It sounds like a wounded animal, so she makes a decision and quietly starts looking for it. She hears the whimper again, and manages to narrow down where it’s coming from. Then she hears a whine right in front of her face. “Dog?” She quietly asks, kneeling down. 

Something snuffles, and a snout pushes open a cardboard box. 

It’s a puppy.

She stares, because something about it - him? - seems familiar. “Hey, puppy. Come here?”

He continues staring at her with wide eyes. She can’t tell what breed it is, but it has a white spot around its left eye - the only color difference on its otherwise black fur. 

“Spot?” She tries, then smiles at the steady thump-thump of “Spot” wagging his tail. “Come here, Spot.”

Another whine, but this one’s different somehow. 

“Are there, uh, more of you in there?” She asks, then shakes her head. “Dogs can’t talk.”

Spot whines again, and pushes forward through the flaps in the box. Cass giggles when he trips, tumbling over and into her lap. “Hello there...”

* * *

“I need to talk to you about who we are.”

“Yes, obviously. What about it?”

“Are we the only ones?”

“No. Definitely not. But I don’t know how many. We can talk to Diana if we absolutely need to.” Tim notes that this is the sixth time Jason has groaned in his presence in the past twelve hours.

“So what are we going to do? Just abandon everything we’ve worked for as humans?”

“Oh, definitely not. We obviously had a  _ reason _ for pretending to be human, but I don’t remember what it is. Do you?”

“No. So you don’t know who any of the others are?”

“Nope,” Tim says. 

Jason frowns at him. “I thought… Cass...?”

“So did I. But I can’t tell.” Tim pauses. “Can you, um, try not to have as violent a first encounter with the rest of us as you did with me? Because, like, I’m the one you’re supposed to  _ like _ .”

* * *

_ “It didn’t surprise anyone when I died,” Jason yells, Judo-throwing Tim over his shoulder. “When I  _ **_failed_ ** _.” He drives a kick into Tim’s back.  _

_ “It surprised me,” Tim finally manages to choke around a mouthful of blood.  _

_ Jason pauses, ironically in surprise. “What?” _

_ “I thought you could never loose. I thought you were unbeatable.” Tim pauses. “Except for those giants, I guess.” Tim peers at Jason’s face, which appears to be twisted in some sort of hybrid of pleased, confused, amused, and angry. “Did I break you?” _

_ “Yes,” Jason says. Tim starts laughing internally at the completely confused look on his face. _

_ “You always leap before you look, lover,” Tim says. “Maybe think this through next time.” He feels his injuries start to close up and grins. “About time.” He gives Jason an expectant look and holds out his hand. _

_ “What,” Jason repeats, staring.  _

_ Tim rolls his eyes and stands himself, before poking Jason in the chest. “You Ares. Me Aphrodite. Comprende, Tarzan?” _

_ Jason gapes at him for a solid minute before throwing his arms up and walking away. “I refuse to deal with this. Repla - um.  _ Tim _.” He sighs. “You never saw me.” _

_ “Sure thing, babe. Call me maybe?” _

_ Even the citizens of San Francisco could hear Jason’s groan.  _

* * *

“That wasn’t god me reacting to god you, though,” Jason points out. “That was recently-resurrected me reacting to replacement you.”

“And the whole replacement thing! What was that? Jason I could never replace you. Bruce didn’t even  _ want  _ me to become Robin, I stole a goddamn costume and ran. Do your research.”

Jason stares. “Seriously? You. Actively involved yourself in a fight.  _ You. _ ”

Tim slugs him in the stomach. “Rude.”

Jason has to double over and wheeze for a while. Tim counts that as a win.

He hears Cass open the door only because it was made to be squeaky. All members of their family are quiet as hell, so it’s good to have some kind of sound to alert them.

“Tim,” She calls. “I found something.”

He immediately feels himself tense, and sees Jason’s hand land on his gun, but when Cass walks into the room she’s only holding - “Is that a dog?”

She grimly moves her jacket off its shoulders to show - “That’s a three headed dog,” Jason says faintly. 

“His name wouldn’t happen to be Spot, would it?” Tim asks. The dog perks up and starts panting at Tim, tail thwapping against Cass’s arm. 

“Oh, you’re  _ kidding _ ,” Jason says. 

Cerberus barks in agreement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was actually p short lmaoooo but its over 1k sooo its not that short  
> idk  
> leave a comment?  
> pls?


End file.
